Beneath a Blood Moon (25 page)

With the memory of my fellow captives’ lustful howls ringing in my ears, I stretched my stride, walking as fast as I could without breaking into a jog. I had been hunted enough.

Like every other hotel I had been to on the Strip, the Venetian’s stores formed a maze spanning several levels with pathways crisscrossing the canal. Cafes, stores, and restaurants with terraces offered many places to evade my unwanted shadows.

 It took two circuits of the entire area and a quick slide into the casino to shake off the pair of Fenerec. Determined to secure my victory and keep them off my tail, I left the Venetian and crossed the street to Caesar’s Palace. Instead of the shopping I had intended to do, I bought a purse to match my dress, and stuffed my other bag inside of it.

So early in the day, the clubs wouldn’t be too busy. It was the perfect time to quit my job and truly put Vegas behind me once and for all.

I caught a cab and headed to the club. George was working as the front door bouncer, and I stared at him while gathering my courage.

“Sara,” he greeted.

“Tell the boss he can go fuck himself. I quit,” I announced. The words came out easier than I expected.

“Told me to show you in if you came around,” George replied.

“He’s about to get the memo I learned a new trick. The answer’s no, George.” I turned to leave, and he grabbed my wrist to stop me. Clenching my teeth, I considered putting my wolf’s strength to the test.

“He’ll ruin you.”

“I can live with that.”

“Can you?” George tugged me in the direction of the doors. “Don’t be like this, Sara. I’m sure you two can work things out.”

It took every bit of my will to resist growling. “What makes you think I want to work things out?”

“You’re worth too much to him now. He’ll ruin you in this entire city.”

“If I cared, George, that’d be a good threat. I don’t.”

“He said all he needed was five minutes to convince you.”

“Is that so? Five minutes?” I couldn’t mask the disbelief in my tone. “After what that dick did? I have somewhere to be, and it’s not here. Let me go.”

George didn’t let me go; instead, he pulled me into the club. “Five minutes, Sara. Don’t catch us all up in your fall.”

Swallowing back my growl, I huffed, “Fine. Five minutes.”

In five minutes, I would make it perfectly clear I didn’t care what happened to my reputation in Las Vegas.

The boss was in his upstairs suite overlooking the stage. I didn’t see him often, but as always, he was dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. He slid from the leather, curved bench and circled around the table he used as his desk. I stood in the doorway, tightening my grip on my bag while calculating how good of a weapon it would make.

“Since George seems to be hard of hearing today, I’ll just tell you to your face. I quit. Find some other girl to dance for you on the main shift. I’m done.” I met his pale eyes.

My wolf wanted to tear him to pieces for having us drugged and selling us, even though we had found our mate through his treachery.

“You’re making a very big mistake, Miss Madison. You could be a very rich woman. Your clients weren’t the first willing to pay so much for your time. You’re a luxury item. Once news of your availability spreads, you’ll be the most sought after lady in this city.”

“I’m not an item for sale. I quit. Go ahead and try to ruin me. I don’t mind in the slightest.”

“I’ll ruin you here and in every city with a club, Miss Madison. You’ll never dance again.”

“I’m pretty sure I don’t care, sir.”

“Why don’t you have a seat so we can discuss this like adults,” the boss replied, sitting and sliding to the middle of the curved bench. “George, please bring the lady a chair, as I assume she won’t feel comfortable getting cozy with me this morning.”

“Damn straight I don’t feel like getting cozy with you,” I muttered.

“Can I offer you a drink?”

“So you can drug me again? I pass.”

“There’s no need to be so bitter, Miss Madison. It was for your own good. You’re twenty thousand richer as a result, and all you had to do was one evening of real work. I’ve had several other offers for you, some even more lucrative for both of us. You are in high demand.”

George brought out a chair and placed it in front of the table. When I hesitated, the bouncer rested his hand on my shoulder and pushed down. I sank onto the chair. “The answer is still no. I don’t give a shit about your profits.”

“I’m afraid I’m not willing to take no for an answer, Miss Madison. I’ve been offered a substantial amount for you to escort a gentleman for an evening, and I intend to collect, without your cooperation if necessary.”

Slamming my hands against the table, I rose and leaned forward. “Not happening. Absolutely not. I’m not going to be kidnapped and raped so you can make a quick dollar.”

He narrowed his eyes, and there was nothing pleasant about his smile. “What makes you think you have a choice?”

I spun to leave. George blocked my path.

In one hand, he held a syringe.

“No fucking way,” I blurted. My wolf’s temper frayed and snapped. I tensed, balanced all of my weight on one heel, and stabbed my stiletto at George’s feet. He dodged my jab, and the kind, quiet George I knew vanished. Far faster than I thought his bulk would have allowed, he cracked the back of his hand across my face.

“Try not to bruise her too much,” the boss cautioned.

I was stunned for only a moment, but that was all George needed. While I didn’t feel the prick of the needle, a chill spread up my arm. When it reached my neck, my legs wobbled and gave out under me. George tossed the syringe onto the table.

I recognized the dizzying buzz of the drugs I had been given when I had been sold to the Desmonds, although the effects were far, far stronger than I remembered. My wolf’s panic lasted only a few moments before her presence faded away in the drugged haze clouding my head.

“You bastard,” I choked out.

“You have a date with a gentlemen in New York in a week. Imagine it: you, a stupid little broad who doesn’t even deserve it, getting a chance to go to one of New York’s exclusive galas. You will remain as my guest in the interim, Miss Madison. You will enjoy this lovely cocktail of medication once a day, which I’ve been told will keep you nice, docile, and obedient until it wears off. It was custom made by your new client. He was quite annoyed you had already been hired before he could enjoy you that night I sent you off with that couple. He has learned his lesson that only the highest bidder gets to take you home. At least I am generous. You will be paid a sum by your client at the conclusion of the evening depending on your performance. Do you understand?”

Tears of frustration and anger burned my eyes, and as the drugs had done before, I was forced to reply, “Yes, sir.”

“I work with whores like you all of the time, Miss Madison. No one will miss you. You’re just another stupid slut in a city full of them. Never forget it.”

I was stupid, all right. I was stupid for thinking I could just quit and walk away. “You fucking piece of shit.”

“You’re very lucky I was paid a hefty deposit to keep you untouched until your date, or you’d be finding out just how much of a fucker I am. Take her upstairs. Make certain she’s comfortable, just like we talked about earlier. You will be calm, quiet, and do exactly as you’re told, Miss Madison. Understood?”

Unable to disobey and hating myself for my stupidity and my weakness, I whispered, “Yes, sir.”

I’d never been to the floor above the suite serving as the boss’s office. At first glance, it was an apartment, but as George shoved me deeper into it, I learned it was the home of someone sexually depraved who had a lot of interest in bondage and fetish.

The boss’s idea of making me comfortable reminded me of Kent’s depravities and involved a cell, leather cuffs, and binding my arms over my head while my feet were secured to the floor. To add insult to injury, George strapped a band around my waist, which clipped to the wall to force me to sit on the cold floor. While I wanted to scream my fury and frustration, I couldn’t voice more than a quiet growl. George took his time, stroking his hands over my dress as he double-checked the cuffs around my wrists and ankles before securing them to the floor and walls.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. As soon as this contract ends, the boss says I get to have you as many times as I want.”

I spit on him.

He seized my hair and gave a yank. “You’ll regret that as soon as you’re back from New York, bitch.”

“I’ll never be your bitch,” I swore, but unable to defy the drugs, I did so in a hoarse whisper.

“I hope I’m the one who gets to break you and make you into the perfect little whore. Now stay there, don’t move, and be silent. Get used to it, sweetheart. You’re here to be seen, not heard.”

I choked on the stream of profanities I wanted to shriek at him. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t force myself to struggle in the cuffs. The edges bit into my wrists as my body, in obedience to the drugs they had pumped into me, remained limp and unresponsive. George closed the cell’s door and smirked as he locked it, jingling the keys at me.

When Sanders found out I couldn’t even handle quitting my job without getting into trouble, he was going to be angry. Worse, I deserved every last bit of his rage. Angry tears welled in my eyes, and I was powerless to stop them from falling.

Trusting anyone had been the first of my mistakes, which made ditching the two male Fenerec my second mistake. I should have remained at the hotel, waiting patiently for my mate to return. Instead of giving me the warmth and strength I was accustomed to, my wolf remained silent, her presence so faint I could barely sense her. With my wolf held at bay by the drugs, I was alone.

Maybe I hadn’t asked to become a Fenerec, but losing that wild, restless part of me frightened me almost as much as the drugs. The thought of being sold to the highest bidder, a bidder who knew what I was and how to make me nothing more than a puppet, sickened me.

I couldn’t even voice a single whine.

I was so ashamed of having fallen for such an obvious trap I closed my eyes and wished I could disappear. At least when Kent had held me captive, I had been able to defy him and fight back, killing him when a chance provided itself.

Kent had liked my struggles, so once he had me secured, he hadn’t dosed me with drugs to keep me compliant. He wanted me to fight him, and I had risen up to his challenge. While I had been captive, freedom had been a goal within my grasp, one I had been willing to pay any cost for. If it hadn’t been for Brandy, I would have escaped on my own.

In the cell, ordered not to move or speak, I was completely helpless.

As I waited, the dizzying sway of the world around me intensified. The disconnect between me and my wolf left my stomach churning. As the seconds slipped into minutes and the minutes stretched into hours, I lost track of time.

When I heard the approach of footsteps, I was so resigned to being unable to do anything at all, I sat still and waited for whatever would happen. If I could have surrendered control to my wolf, I would have.

Wolves had different opinions on sex and modesty, and what I couldn’t handle, she could—if I let her seize full control so she could guard me from what I feared. She didn’t like other males near us, but their advances fueled her rage, urged her to violence, and made her strong.

All I had was a bone-deep terror of what they could do to me and how they could make me feel, all without my consent. I trembled as the footsteps drew closer.

The jangle of keys heralded the click of the cell opening. No one spoke, but a hand shoved my hair aside before touching the side of my throat. After a minute, a woman stated, “Seventy-five and erratic.”

I recognized her voice, although I couldn’t remember from where.

“Well, ain’t she a popular one. Stud Muffin should get a refund on this bitch,” Dustin grumbled. “Get her out of that mess and do something with her.”

Holly. The woman was Holly, the cop who had been in Kent’s basement. She sighed. “He’s really going to rip your head off if he hears you say that, sir.”

“I assure you Stud Muffin heard every word,” Sanders snarled from somewhere nearby. The sound of my mate’s voice hit me like a blow to the gut. Shame surged through me, and the wolfsbane stole away even my ability to cry at the stupidity of my actions. “Let me be clear on something. Stud Muffin doesn’t want a refund or an exchange. In fact, all Stud Muffin wants is her. Move or be moved. You will not like what will happen if you have to be moved.”

All I wanted was to crawl into a hole and die.

“I apologize for him, sir,” Holly whispered.

My mate’s scent flooded my nose, and he slid an arm around me, pulling me as close as my restraints allowed. Running a hand over my hair, he nestled my head on his shoulder. “Unclip her hands first,” he whispered, “I’ll hold her up while you get her out of the cuffs.”

“Let’s just hope they haven’t had her like this for too long,” Holly replied, and once she freed me, she draped my arms over Sanders’s shoulders. It didn’t take long for Holly to remove the band circling my stomach and free me from the ankle cuffs. “Well, at least those assholes took good care of the leather. She’s free, sir.”